I've Got The Bug/ Buying Newer 345

[truk4u]

Darl,

Guess your not going to get a price!

[0533]

Bruce,

They all will have their troubles. Friends of ours recently took delivery of Marathon 0957, and "H" with 40K miles. They have had slide room troubles...not wanting to retract, so you can't move. Hopefully, this is solved, Marathon tweaked the slide. They have had salon windows crack and come unglued. Remember, the newer "H"'s have glued in flush windows, too.
Can you post a few more photos of 0533 along with a floorplan?>?

I agree Jim. I like the XLII best, the smooth sleek lines. I figured that if I purchased one it would be the one that had both skin and window problems. I'm sure that slides can be problems until they get sorted out and in fact have seen both XLII and H models at Prevost having slides worked on. The is no perfect solution. One can only evaluate each coach for quality of workmanship.

[0533]

Bruce,

If you're going to come over to the dark side you have to get the nomenclature correct. It's H3-45.

Good luck.

MIke

I was wrong and will never ever do that again. But I do want to ask one question. Does H3-45 stand for the formula in the plastic skin? Like H stands for high strength plastic, and 3 for 3 mils, and 45 for I guess the length. Thats how Winnebago does it. can't wait.

[Jerry Winchester]

I wouldn't post the price either. If you are serious and want to know call or e-mail.

And don't bother with grouchy ass Lew. I think he is a closet PP and is just trying to throw us off track.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I agree Jim. I like the XLII best, the smooth sleek lines. I figured that if I purchased one it would be the one that had both skin and window problems. I'm sure that slides can be problems until they get sorted out and in fact have seen both XLII and H models at Prevost having slides worked on. The is no perfect solution. One can only evaluate each coach for quality of workmanship.

Bruce, when you have developed the skills to evaluate the quality of the bonding on the skins, and the ability of the slides to continue functioning, and you know the windows will not blow out you need to share that with Prevost and the owners or these coaches.

There can be no doubt the XLII and H3 coaches with slides are as good as it gets, but for the unlucky few who get hung with these problems they can be a nightmare. At least Prevost appears to be standing behind the problems for now.

[jack14r]

Liberty is the only one of the big three that uses Prevost slides in their H3 conversion,all three use Prevost slides in their XLII conversions.I prefer factory engineering to converter engineering,I also feel that if a problem arises I have all of the Prevost service centers as well as the converter to help fix the problem.I know that there are benefits(slide size)to the Marathon and Featherlite H3 conversion,but what kind of support would you have if Valid or Featherlite went out of business?I will always prefer the Prevost slide to a after market slide.

[garyde]

This is a good topic. Since there are few major items to knock when it comes to Prevost, we all get hung up on slides. Mine is an 2003 conversion and I have not had any problems with the slides, and only one issue with the bedroom seal. I don't know how the topic of skins peeling and windows shattering got started, but is this really a main stream problem or is continuing to talk about it creating a issue which does not really exist.
I know of Kevin's bus which is a 2001 and had skin issues before he purchased it. Can anyone count on one hand the Coaches they know about who have had this problem? the same goes for windows.
I hope we won't get like some other sites which propagate mis -information and it begins to take on a life of its own.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Gary, Your comments are legitimate, but to the folks affected the issues are very serious.

Paul posted that there were coaches in JAX that were being reskinned. Previously discussed was the fact that SOME early coaches had a production problem that caused the poor bond. If what Paul was told is correct:

"Apparently there are still plenty of coaches needing to be repaired. It was explained to me that the original adhesive had a tendency to become brittle over time, and then crack due to the expansion and contraction of the stainless, resulting in the problem. The question is; do all XLII's with the suspect adhesive have the potential to fail?

The replacement stainless is evidently installed using a different adhesive that stays more pliant, allowing the expansion and contraction of the panels without causing damage to the bond."

Then this problem will not go away, but will appear over time based on how a coach is used, where it is used, and how it is stored. I think it needs to be discussed because owners who have not had the repair need to be alert to the future need, and to make certain Prevost will stand behind it. I know from my two rivet coaches that temperature changes, especially when the coach is in the sun make the skin buckle, pop, and generally move.

A bonded skin has to be experiencing the same expansion and contraction. Our entire coaches can grow as much as 1/2" going from a cold condition to a warm condition. The bond between the skin and the frame needs to allow for this or it will shear and fail.

Slides are another issue, but the Prevost slides appear to be robust, so those problems likely relate to adjustments and tweaking. I know Prevost has had issues with the pin shape, with the retraction of pins, and with seal quality. I think once the slides on a coach have been upgraded to repair the minor glitches they are going to be OK, but owners should share their experiences so the other owners are aware of what has been done to perfect the slides. Prevost has acknowledged by their 4 or 5 generations of slides that the designs had issues. By now they have had years and miles of experience so it is likely the slides are as good as they can get them. i see no reason to keep the repairs or modifications secret because like the skins, at some point Prevost (Volvo) is going to stop picking up the tab for repairs and then whoever is left standing when the music stops is screwed.

The window issue is likely a supplier issue, and since it is such a small market Prevost just has to solve it. I seriously doubt if anybody such as International Bus will come up with their own fix.

[0533]

Bruce, when you have developed the skills to evaluate the quality of the bonding on the skins, and the ability of the slides to continue functioning, and you know the windows will not blow out you need to share that with Prevost and the owners or these coaches.

There can be no doubt the XLII and H3 coaches with slides are as good as it gets, but for the unlucky few who get hung with these problems they can be a nightmare. At least Prevost appears to be standing behind the problems for now.

Thats just it Jon, I have no special skills in this area, just my visual and hearing experience spending 3 days and 3 nights as a guest of Prevost jacksonville, a very busy shop, lots of buses many with both of these problems. Got to ask the staff lots of questions from 7am to midnight each of those days, one can learn a lot this way. I was inside and outside many coaches in many phases of repair, both H and XLII's. I feel that I was fully brought up to speed in this area. I'm sure that you have been in the same situation at Prevost. While spending 72 hours inside the bays, working eating sleeping the whole experience some will rub off.

I am not making recommendations about either coach just referring to my preference based on what I have seen, As I said I like the looks of the XLII best, but after my evaluation feel that there is lower risk with potential issues with the H series for now anyway. None of these coaches is immune to problems and I understand this.

I am always learning about stuff and am sure I will find issues that I do not know about every day on these coaches.

[phorner]

Gary,

Including Kevin's bus, I know personally of 5 buses that have experienced the problem with the skin...

And, since I own an XL, I haven't really even been paying close attention to this issue.

To quote one of the tech's "we've done so many we can do them in our sleep".

So, it would appear that the problem extends beyond a hand full of coaches.

My concern would be that the problem does not appear to be the result of a certain batch of adhesive, but rather that they're changing to a different adhesive altogether.